Need User Manual for Mag 1 Portaball 12.5” f4.8

[Harold LaRue]

Hi, I inherited a 12.5” Porta-Ball telescope with no user manual. I’m a total astronomy newbie, but very technically inclined.

I’d love to set it up correctly to onserve tonight’s Blue Supermoon, if at all possible.

 

Does anyone have a PDF or link that they can post here or, preferably, send to <private contact details removed>, please?

Seems that the company may be defunct and the URL has been abandoned. No luck on Google finding the user manual.

 

Thank you all in advance and am happy to gaze at the stars from Houston.

Edited August 30, 2023 by Cornelius Varley
Private contact details removed

[Louis D]

You might want to inquire over on Cloudy Nights as well.  Being US based, you might have better luck there.  There are certainly quite a few Porta-Ball users over here who could help you out.  Unfortunately for you, I'm not one of them.  As I recall from star parties, it's actually a fairly simple scope to assemble and collimate, so don't be too concerned about the complexity of this undertaking.  One odd thing about them is that the primary mirror collimation knobs come up alongside the mirror because the backside of the mirror cell is inaccessible due to the ball construction.

BTW, don't be tempted by low ball offers to sell that scope.  They are worth many thousands of dollars and are still in demand on the secondary market.

[The60mmKid]

The company is actually still in operation although less overtly than in the past. It's basically a one-person show. If you search CloudyNights, you can find contact references here and there. There are also many threads there on Portaball that can help you get acquainted with the basics.

As previously noted, these are well respected scopes. Yours most likely has outstanding mirrors and will provide fine views. Enjoy!

[Harold LaRue]

Thanks so much for the info and speedy replies. I'll zip on over to Cloudy Nights.